![]() “The EPA appears to be turning a blind eye to this problem, and after seven years of an increasing number of incidents, they are telling the public that they are continuing to monitor the situation,” she said. McCormack said the collars have the most incidents of any pesticide pet product she’s ever seen. The agency has known about these incidents for years but has not informed the public of the potential risks associated with this product, said Karen McCormack, a retired EPA employee who worked as both a scientist and communications officer. The EPA is in charge of regulating products that contain pesticides. Overall, through June 2020, the agency has received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, including nearly 1,000 involving human harm. Since Seresto flea and tick collars were introduced in 2012, the EPA has received incident reports of at least 1,698 related pet deaths. The center provided the documents to the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The pesticide is supposed to kill fleas, ticks and other pests but be safe for cats and dogs.īut thousands of pets are being harmed, according to federal documents obtained through a public records request from the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit organization that watchdogs the EPA as part of its work to protect endangered species. Seresto, developed by Bayer and now sold by Elanco, works by releasing small amounts of pesticide onto the animal for months at a time. Yet the EPA has done nothing to inform the public of the risks. Environmental Protection Agency documents show. Seresto, one of the most popular flea and tick collars in the country, has been linked to hundreds of pet deaths, tens of thousands of injured animals and hundreds of harmed humans, U.S. ![]() “I just didn’t put it together,” she said.īomwell isn’t alone. Bomwell didn’t think to take off Pierre’s collar. Pierre died before he could receive medical treatment. An officer helped her lift the dog into her car, and she rushed him to the hospital. Lying on his back, the dog stopped breathing and his eyes rolled back.īomwell tried giving him CPR. Still, her veterinarian recommended she purchase one, so Bomwell went to the pet store near her home in Somerset, New Jersey, and selected Bayer’s Seresto collar.Ī day later, on June 2, 2020, Pierre had a seizure, collapsing while Bomwell was making dinner. Pierre, her 9-year-old Papillon service dog, was mostly an indoor animal. Rhonda Bomwell had never used a flea and tick collar before. This story was co-published with USA TODAY and is embargoed for republication until March 12, 2021.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |